Hello all, I have just acquired hull 1991,however,I cannot find the spreaders. She has a 23'6" proctor mast hog stepped. Does anyone know how long the spreaders should be and where I can get a set?
Thanks

If the mast is the same age as the boat then it could well have had diamonds which would mean it didn't use spreaders. 
The length of spreaders will also depend on their height and the height of the hounds which seems to be quite variable on different old masts.

Hi Chris, forgive my ignorance but what are diamonds? there are two plastic brackets (one each side of  mast) at 10'2" from the bottom of the mast and the shrouds disappear into the mast a further 6'6" up the mast.

My 1st MR1890 didn't have spreaders or diamonds on a standard proctor D section until much later when I acquired a spreader bracket and riveted it on my self.
I had approx. 1" out deflection and 1" forward to help stiffen and hold the jib tension.

Hi Mark. Diamonds are separate from the shrouds and only give side to side stiffness. Wooden masts use them and some early metal masts did. Made from SS piano wire they attach  to the mast near the bottom and to the hounds. a pair of straight spreaders (cross trees) triangulate it make the diamond shape and so support stiffen the mast.

Thanks folks I will put the mast up and see

My first merlin, 2143 a IXb, had a Proctor D mast didn't have any spreaders, was very quick in it's day.

I am aware that no one has actually answered your question.
My 23'6" Proctor M3 section has 15"spreaders 6'6" above lower black band. 
I am not sure if this is correct, just what was on the boat when I bought it. 1074 a proctor IX

thanks Richard, it looks like I will have to try both set ups.

Swinging spreaders were in vogue at the time your boat was built and as you say that your spreader roots are plastic they may well have been on your mast. In order to fit fixed spreaders you may have to change your spreader bracket. It is probably worth finding a similar mast/boat and copying them.

1620 had a D+ mast which never had spreaders. When we broke that we fitted a D with spreaders, setting the length by following the advice given by I think GGG in the mag at that time. This was a bad idea; the low rig tension you can get on boats of this age means that to achieve the same effect the spreader tip has to push the shroud considerably more out of the straight line than on a stiff modern hull. Pics in the book show that height of the spreader root varied considerably at that time as people experimented, seemingly a lost art.